Sam Mendes

"I don't want to be known for one thing. I don't want to have an adjective based around my name. 'Lynchian,' I know what that is, I know what 'Kubrickian' is, and I know what 'Bergmanesque' means. But there isn't going to be, and I don't want there to be, a 'Mendesian.'" - Sam Mendes

Most filmmakers spend their entire lives working towards a career in Hollywood, battling tidal waves of rejection, anxiety, failed projects, and empty pockets. To make even one feature film is a miracle in and of itself. So when Sam Mendes' directorial debut American Beauty won best picture and best director at the 1999 Academy Awards, many were quick to cry fluke. But long before mainstream audiences caught wind of Mendes, he was one of the most celebrated theater directors in the world. Since his now-legendary coming-out party, Mendes has gone on to marry one of the sexiest women in the world in Kate Winslet, while making an array of standout films that include Road To Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, and Away We Go. Next up, Mendes is set to take the reins of the James Bond franchise, and take it to bold new emotional and visual heights.

MAGNETISM

The best way to assess Sam Mendes' appeal to women is to talk about Michael Bay. Michael Bay directed Transformers 2 and probably wore fluffy, white bathrobes while doing it. When he's not directing movies, we like to imagine that he's fake-tanning with the cast of Jersey Shore, waxing his Porsche GT3 and inviting starry-eyed coeds to his Hollywood Hills mansion for an "audition." Sam Mendes is his antithesis. That's probably why Mendes dated Calista Flockhart and Rachel Weisz, and is currently married to Kate Winslet -- and Michael Bay may have just banged Miss February.

SUCCESS

Every generation has a defining film that encapsulates certain crucial and underlying truths unique to a specific tribe. For baby boomers past their prime (and their kids), that film is American Beauty, Sam Mendes' biting and tragic ode to repressed suburban mores and middle class angst. After an illustrious career in the competitive world of British theater, Mendes' debut film took the world by storm, receiving universal praise and earning the Oscar for Best Picture, and Mendes the Oscar for Best Director. Since then he has gone on to direct the critically uneven films Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Away We Go, and Revolutionary Road, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for best director. Some insist that Mendes has been playing catch-up with his roaring debut, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still one of the world's most influential and respected directors. His famous propensity for genre-hopping will be on display once again as he is set to take on the still-untitled 23rd installment in the James Bond franchise.

Sam Mendes Biography

Sam Mendes was born in Reading, England, to a diverse family that was quick to nurture his creative tendencies. His father -- from Trinidad's ethnic Portuguese community -- was a retired university lecturer, while his mother -- an English Jew -- was a children's author. Sam was just 5 years old when his parents divorced. He went on to study at England's prestigious Cambridge University and began directing plays soon after graduating. One of his plays -- Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard starring Judi Dench in London's West End -- caught the attention of London's theater elite. Mendes wasn't even 25 years old.

sam mendes dominates the theater world

Before he became one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood, Sam Mendes established himself as one of the most celebrated theater directors ever. After joining England's legendary Royal Shakespeare Company, Mendes directed such lauded productions as Troilus and Cressida with Ralph Fiennes, Richard III and The Tempest. In 1992, Mendes became the artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, an intimate London studio space that he quickly transformed into one of the most vital and impressive theaters in the city. His debut production, Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, was a critical smash, announcing Sam Mendes to the London stage intelligentsia as the real deal. Over the course of the next decade, Mendes would go on to direct some of the finest versions of such seminal work as Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, Stephen Sondheim's Company, and Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. Mendes is also known for directing the Broadway revival of Cabaret alongside Rob Marshall, for which he won a Tony.

sam mendes directs american beauty

After over 20 directors were considered, and several "A-Listers" turned it down, Dreamworks -- the fledgling studio that purchased Alan Ball's script -- looked to acclaimed theater director Sam Mendes to direct the suburban satire American Beauty. The film which starred Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning, was Mendes' first as a director, but one wouldn't know it. The assured camera movements, beautiful compositions and many thematic subtleties resembled the work of a seasoned pro. Mendes was recognized for his achievement; American Beauty earned almost $400 million at the global box office, and was the best-reviewed film of 1999, winning Best Picture at the Oscars and Golden Globes, while Mendes was awarded just about every directing award known to man. Suddenly, Sam Mendes was the most in-demand director in Hollywood.

sam mendes directs road to perdition

A true sign that Sam Mendes had made it as a film director (as if an Oscar for Best Director wasn't enough), could be found on the poster for his next film, the prohibition-era gangster epic Road to Perdition. It read: "Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law" -- a cast of Hollywood heavyweights past, present and future that only the best in the business get to direct. This was Sam Mendes' second effort. What at essence was a tale about a father and son, Road to Perdition was not as well-received as American Beauty, but it wasn't a failure by any means, earning $180 million at the box office and six Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Cinematography. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Mendes' next effort.

sam mendes directs his wife in revolutionary road

After the success of his first two films, Mendes had built the reputation in Hollywood as a director who could do no wrong. That would all change after the release of the war film Jarhead. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx, the film explored the boredom and psychological distress that comes with being a soldier on the front lines, and received mixed reviews and modest box office gains.

After heading back to direct theater, Mendes returned to Hollywood in 2008 with Revolutionary Road, a film that arrived with loads of buzz thanks to the reunion of Titanic lovebirds Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The grim period piece also marked the first time Mendes and his wife Kate Winslet worked together. Thematically, Revolutionary Road hearkened back to American Beauty, but it did not achieve the same level of success critically or financially. The film was by no means a failure however, earning a handful of awards for Mendes and his crew, including a nomination for Best Director at the 2008 Golden Globes.

up next for sam mendes

Sam Mendes' most recent film, the romantic road movie Away We Go, was a dramatic departure from his usual more brooding work. Written by Dave Eggers and starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as a couple looking for the perfect city to raise their child, Away We Go showed Mendes as a versatile director not limited to genre boundaries that plague many of his colleagues. Perhaps that explains why he's been tapped to direct the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise. Although it's not yet a sure thing, fans of good cinema around the world are keeping their collective fingers crossed.